Scents of turkey and stuffing drifted from the Godow kitchen as Levi, 12, chased Lee-Lee, 7, and Olivia, 6, out the front door and onto the porch where, Heidi, 14, lounged on the porch swing.

Their mother, Ashley, took in the children’s squeals and looked about her new home with amazement. The family moved into their Habitat for Humanity house on Jail Hill Road in Shelbyville on Sept. 2, but Ashley Godow said she still finds it hard to believe.

“Everybody just came together to make something beautiful and affordable,” she said.

The women in the Ballard family are wild about horses, and they all have their tales to tell. The men are another story.

Matthew, 11, recalled an incident that didn't bolster his enthusiasm for riding.

"I had absolutely no experience and I was trying to drive the horse - I mean to stir it - and the horse went too far to one side going through the gate, and I fell off," he said. "I've kind of gotten a little more nervous around horses since that happened," he added.